This week's best new shows and movies list features a pair of Oscar-nominated films, the latest expansion of the Yellowstone universe, a young Sherlock Holmes show from Guy Ritchie – and that's just for starters.
Yes, March is here and after a couple of quieter months the streamers are finally going all out with great new film and TV releases. On this page we've selected six of the most essential releases from some of the best streaming services, all of which will be hitting your screens in the next week.
Hamnet
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Peacock
This haunting drama from director Chloe Zhao is easily one of the best films of the last six months – and a strong contender to take home the Best Picture award at this year's Oscars. Hamnet tells the story of Agnes (Jessie Buckley) who meets and falls in love with a young William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). The couple start a family, but are beset by an unbearable tragedy that, the film suggests, is at the heart of one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
Both Mescal and especially Buckley deliver incredible, career-best work in a film that's also blessed with beautiful cinematography from Łukasz Żal and a stunning, immersive score from Max Richter. Hamnet is an overwhelmingly moving and powerful experience that you can experience for yourself on March 6.
Our list of the most heartbreaking movie moments will have you reaching for the tissues.
Young Sherlock
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Prime Video
This new mystery series, which features Guy Ritchie as a producer, takes us back to the early days of the world's most famous detective. In the show, Sherlock Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) is 19 years old, fresh out of a stint in prison, and now working as a porter at Oxford University. When the campus is rocked by a murder, however, the blame falls on Sherlock. As he strives to solve the mystery, Holmes will make some new friends and foes – notably one James Moriarty (Dónal Finn).
Full of action as well as deduction, this is very much in the mould of Ritchie's two Holmes movies. If you prefer your Sherlock mysteries to be a bit more on the cerebral side, then this may raise an eyebrow. For everyone else, however, it looks like rollicking great fun.
This list of the best Prime Video shows is packed with great recommendations.
Vladimir
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Netflix
Author Julia May Jones adapts her own novel in this midlife crisis drama. The story follows a middle-aged English professor played by Rachel Weisz. Her character (who remains unnamed throughout) is going through a hard time at home, with her husband John (John Slattery) caught up in a misconduct scandal at work. When she meets a new colleague, a handsome young writer named Vladimir (Leo Woodall), our protagonist becomes obsessed, losing herself in fantasies that could risk both her marriage and career.
Desire, lust, and obsession are just some of the themes explored in this compelling drama. You can get obsessed for yourself when all eight episodes drop onto Netflix on March 5.
Check out our regularly updated list of the best Netflix shows.
The Secret Agent
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Hulu
It's a great week for Oscar-nominated movies hitting streaming! The Secret Agent is another modern classic, this time a '70s-set neo-noir political thriller – though that description really doesn't do justice to this fascinating and surprising film. Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura) is a widowed scientist in a Brazil that was, at the time, in the grip of a military dictatorship. On the run, Armando moves to a refuge for political dissidents and takes on a new name.
What follows is a genuinely unpredictable tale, with director Kleber Mendonça Filho touching on comedy and horror as well as political drama. Like Hamnet, The Secret Agent has been nominated for the Best Picture award at this year's Oscars. They're two very different movies, but both worthy of your time.
You'll find more recommendations in our guide to the best Hulu movies.
Marshals: A Yellowstone Story
Available: US/UK
Where to watch: Paramount Plus
The latest entry into the ever-expanding Yellowstone franchise launches today! Marshals follows Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) as he joins a group of deputy U.S. Marshals. Kayce was a fan favorite in Yellowstone and he's at the front and center of the action in this exciting new series. A lot has changed in his life, with his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) mysteriously absent – we should find out why in the coming weeks – and his new job putting him in more danger than ever before.
Franchise creator Taylor Sheridan will not be writing for Marshals, though he remains on board as a producer. The 13-episode first season starts on Paramount Plus today and will continue to air weekly till late May. Another spin-off, The Dutton Ranch, which follows Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser), is set to arrive later in the year.
Misery
Available: US
Where to watch: Netflix
This 1990 thriller from the late, great director Rob Reiner, is one of the best Stephen King movie adaptations. James Caan plays novelist Paul Sheldon, a romance author who crashes his car in a blizzard. He is rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates, in one of her most iconic performances), a nurse who declares herself to be Sheldon's number one fan. She promises to look after him as he recovers, but it's not long before her care takes on a more sinister dimension...
Caan and Bates shine in what is, for the most part, a two-hander as Sheldon tries to escape his captor. Tense, darkly witty, and unforgettable, Misery is a '90s classic. And in her performance as Annie Wilkes, Kathy Bates, Reiner, and King created one of the great movie villains.
Check out our list of the best Stephen King movies to see where we've ranked Misery.
Our guide to the best Apple TV shows is packed full of unmissable TV choices.
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